The Griffin Queen
by whoere
Summary: Lord Stark prepares the North for the invasion of White Walkers with help from his friends from the South; AU


Chapter One

Cassana

The morning was crisp and cold; the warm mornings disappeared along with the last remaining Summer days; leaving behind nothing but bitter cold rain and Autumn winds. It was the nineteenth summer, and the fourteenth of beautiful Cassana's life. The crispybreeze  
placed frozen kisses along the beautiful young maiden's pale neck. Twenty in all guards sat clustered on their foreign Dothrakian horses- gifts from Khal Draga, after Lord Hawthorne offered marriage to his beautiful bubbly blonde niece, Alyssa.  
/Cassana rode among them, she sat nervous but trembling with excitement; after three long months her brothers were returning to The Storm Lands. This was the first time Cassana had been deemed worthy enough to retrieve her older brothers from theirlong  
journeys from Kingslanding.

"Cass you will freeze to death if you do notretreat home soon." Ser Udolf Ferrest protests to the young maiden. The horde had been withstanding the Eastern cold for hours now and Cassana refused to retreat to the warm embrace of her honorable father without  
herbrothers presence.

Beyond the horizon of the Kingsroad- the shadowy banners of the loyal house swayed in the wind. Trailing behind the two banner men sat the two eldest sons of House Hawthorne, Endor and Merek. A large grin spread across the queen of roses and beauty'sface-  
eliminating the intense silence among the men. Whispers of the, _Young Griff,_ erupted intoconversations among the horde. Some say he slay ten thousand men on the back of the last Griffin in Westeros; his battle roar could be heard fromOld  
Valyria itself. Some say he hatched from an egg just like his Griffin and hides his golden wings beneath his expensivedrapes so he doesn't frighten his own men. The young lord was onlyseventeen- but he had a heart, older than timeitself.

Cassana knew of the horrendous rumors the small folk told of her older brother, but no one, not even her eldest brother whom which for a long time she considered a god; possessed godly like abilities.

Cassana was half-tempted to giggle at the gossiping men and even considered speaking to her father about these rumors. But as the herd of pitch black approached the cluster of Griffin's Roost men, all meaningless rumors disappeared.

Endor's men were drenched in raven armor from head to toe and for a second Cassana had almost mistaken the approaching pack for a group of delinquent soldiers summoned from Castle Black. She was put at ease as the fiery red hair came into view. Cassana's  
/bastard brother Merek Storm- had resembled a daisy in a bed of flowers, a needle in a sack of hay, an arrow in a stack of daggers, the odd one out. While all of Endor's men had been blessed with the signature Eastern dark locks, Merek was the onlyone  
of the menwho hadthe reddest of hair. Cassana had to admit, she often teased Merek when they were children; her nickname for her bastard brother was "The Torch." which he hated- and to this day, still loathes.

For sixteen summer's there had been a nasty rumor of Kiara Hawthorne's disloyalty claiming while Lord Viktor Hawthorne, the piartch of House Hawthorne and Lord of the Storm lands- had been absent due to the Robert's Rebellion, his young wife had stolen  
/away to River Run in search of Lysa Tully when she had come across the young Edmure Tully. Of course Edmure and Kiara had met before this encountering, on the eve of Ned and Catelyn Stark's wedding. However the rumor disclaims that she simply couldnot  
help herself and found herself tucked away in his bed. The kitchen's of Griffin's Roost erupted in whispers of gossip on the morn of Merek's birth when Maester Charleston had delivered the young red-haired child. Rumors and lies stretched acrossthe  
realm of the this "Torch." and was desperate to seek the truth from Lord Edmure. Rumor's were put to rest when Merek had returned from God's Fist and Lord Hawthorne had claimed MerekStorm as his bastard son. But he was not a Hawthorne, not byblood,  
birth or marriage.

The poor torch had a permanent scowl attached to his handsome pale face but the scowl was quickly demolished at the sight of his beautiful blue eyedsister. Three long months had passed and the beauty of Cassana had still not blossomed  
feared the daywhen she finally becomesa woman.

His warm breath and the breath of his noble steed were cohesive- steaming in the crispy wind. Cassana noticed the clenched jaw and tensed shoulders of Merek- but spoke nothing until the pair had found a moment alone.

"My dear sister, your beauty blooms with each passing day," Endor amuses at the Queen of roses and beauty.

"Aye," Rek agrees with his older brother, "soon we will have all the bloody suitors in the seven kingdoms waiting for the chance for your hand."

Cassana blushes thousands of reds, afraid her nose may bleed from all the crimson drained to her beautiful pale face. The two brothers burst into horrendous fits of painful laughter, gripping their stomachs and wiping the non existent tears ofjoy.  
Not five minutes of being graced by their presence and she was already hoping to send them right back to the Eyrie.

"Oh how I have missed your meaningless taunting. Come now,we must hurry. Father has prepared a feast for your a arrival." Cassana orders.

She distinctively remembers the whispers of her brothers complaining that she'll be a grumpy mother of her own house soon. She giggles and steers the pack back to the direction of the marvelous castle of Griffin's Roost with her dear knight trailing lightlyon  
her tail.

It seemed the atmosphere had changed on the long ride back to the castle. The men were more tense in the presence of their young Lord. It seemed colder though the wind had begun to stir and the grey clouds rolled in from the hills. The sun cloaked bythick  
cushions of thunder clouds and strikes of lightning.

"It seems you've bought the storm home my brothers but tell me, what news of Renly Baratheon?" Cassana tries to spike up the conversation of the young brother of the king whom fancied himself a prince.

Merek snorts, "Let it be known little sister that he won't be offering marriage to you- or any young lady for that matter."

Cassana shoots Fresster a suspicious look when the horde fast approaches beautiful sounds of laughter and voices ascending from beyond the gates of the dark castle of Griffins Roost. "I don't understand," she slows the steady pace of her elegant Dothrakianhorse,  
"Renly Baratheon was supposed to marry Margery Tyrell."

"Until the tourney at High Garden. One of Lady Margery's hand maidens had found him buried cock deep in her younger brother, Loras."

"Poor Margery," Cassana exclaims as they approach the gates.

"She wasn't exactly unhappy about their... arrangement. Jon Arryn has arranged for a meeting between Mace Tyrell and father for the discussion of who Margery should wed from our family. My bet is Gideon- as soon as he has returned from God's Fist."

With the amount of children Lord Hawthorne had fathered; it was reasonable to understand that all six children would someday be promised to high Lord's and Ladies of noble houses in the seven kingdoms. Baratheon, Stark, Tyrell, Bolton, Tully, Martell,  
/Targaryen, Frey- marriages could form likely alliances and Jon Arryn was more than likely to contribute.

"Do my eyes deceive me? Or do those two horses look remarkably like my two sons?" Viktor Hawthorne jokes from the grand hall of the magnificent castle.

"Father!" Endor embraces.

"You've gotten older old man. Perhaps we shall start calling you Maester instead of Lord." Merek's pale long arms wrap tightly around the man whom he had grown up calling father.

It was a heart clenching moment, like watching a newborn cling to his mother for the first time; always knowing she was there but never able to properly embrace. Arguably, blood is thicker than water but loyalty makes you family. Merek had proven hisloyalty  
to my father, my family and this house many times; but he is not a Hawthorne.

"What in seven hells are they feeding you up in those bloody mountains?" Father inspects the two beefy boys with enthusiasm. Endor had grown quite nicely over the long months. He was big, his shoulders broad, neck thick and legs taller- he could toweranyone  
whom would challenge him and yet still growing everyday. Merek the same- but he was paler and slender, quicker than Endor but still not as skilled.

"Nothing like what we have here father. Come we have much to discuss!"

Without another word the three men hurry out of the crispy cold morning and into the warmth of the dark castle. Cassana stands frozen in the shadow of the castle replaying the conversation between her brothers and herself- over and over. It would be onlya  
matter of time before the discussion of her marriage would be bought up- she only hoped that the Lord she would marry wouldn't treat her as so many others already do.

Ferrest recognizes the fusion of her ebony brows and reassures the beautiful Lady before she over thinks the situation, "You do not have to worry, little Griffin. Your father will wed you to a noble man."

* * *

 **If you've made it this far, THANK YOU for reading. I know it isn't the best sounding story but I'm hoping to update and upgrade it along the way!**

 **If you're in anyway confused lemme break it down for you.**

 _ **Cassana is the daughter of Lord Hawthorne. Lord Hawthorne is the Lord of Griffins Roost and Robert Baratheon's lord commander of his Royal Army. Lord Hawthorne is very good friends with Robert and Ned; Robert loved Viktor so much that he granted him Lord of The Storm Lands over his brother, Stannis Baratheon. Jon Arryn and Maynard Hawthorne were very good friends. The Hawthorne family was very disliked by the Targaryens and wasn't considered a noble house until Roberts Rebellion. Ned, Viktor and Robert grew up together at the Eyrie before Viktor was sent to be fostered by the Lannister's.**_

 _ **Endor is Viktor's heir. Merek is Lady Hawthorne's bastard. Cassana is the only daughter. Jeison is second youngest son and Rollin is the youngest son.**_


End file.
